Purple Sky
by lupercial
Summary: An adventure following two companions across the mystical island of Daymare. A rouge and a sorcerer both in search of the profound Purple Sky.


A nervous laugh escaped her lips as Rowina slipped backwards, landing in a pile of gryffin grease and broken glass, cursing her amusement through a pained grunt. Throwing the jar at her was unexpected, but the following assault from a bucket of frog eyes was really what caught her off guard. The crazed druid bore down on her, bloodshot eyes and stained teeth might as well have been touching her face considering the impressive stench that somehow seemed to stand out despite the overall aroma of the swamp itself. Rowina's weapons lay impotently on the oak floor of the hut, amongst the debris of strange animal components and even stranger plant life. But more pressing was the set of gnashing crooked teeth bearing down on her. Tucking her legs in beneath the old man, Rowina summoned her strength and fired upwards, using her legs like pistons to launch him over her head and into a table with a wincing crash. Scrambling to grab her blades she turned to find him already launching himself at her, crazy eyed and foaming at the mouth. However it was not long before he was halted in his tracks, a crimson red smile across his neck as he fell to his knees and consequently face planted the ground, a pool of blood spreading from his now motionless figure. Rowina grabbed a cloth and wiped the sweat from her forehead before proceeding to wipe the druid's blood from her knife. In the absence of the conflict her breathing and heart beat were near deafening. She hated this part the most, at least during the kill her adrenaline had a purpose, now she just felt like weapon in recoil.

As much as she hated to admit it, the smiles on the faces of the "little bastards" as she so often put it, really brought a sense of satisfaction to her escapade. Along with the thought that she had stopped a crazy old man from maiming, killing or possibly transmuting the children, the sight of parents and townsfolk in full rejoice brought a smile to her face.

"Where too next then?"

Somewhat startled, Rowina turned to see a young elvin man with brown hair and a kind smile. She accepted the drink held out to her and returned his smile.

"I'll probably just keep heading West. I heard Purple Sky is magnificent, I've always wanted to visit there."

The boy nodded, "I'm the same, my father always used to talk about the amazing places he visited in his youth and there was nothing quite like the way he would describe Purple Sky. I've wanted to see it since I was five. The name's Brailin by the way."

"Rowina."

She shook his hand.

"There are certainly worse places than this you know." Gesturing to the rainbow coloured trees that spiralled up around them, supporting the treetop village that sat amongst the beautiful foliage. She smiled despite herself as she thought back to mere hours earlier when she was knee deep in a bog, supporting three crying children.

"I suppose you're not wrong." Brailin said, "yet I can't help but want to see what's outside Rockdale, all I've known is here. It's different for you, you've probably been exploring all over Daymare am I right?"

Rowina sighed, "yeah well I'm sure those kids can vouch for me when I say it's not all gold, smiles and sunshine."

In the background a bard began to play and the treetops were filled with the sounds of mirth and laughter as people began to dance and sing.

"And we can't thank you enough for that by the way. Did I mention that the older one you saved was my brother?"

Rowina raised an eyebrow, "Really? He seemed far too quiet to be related to you."

"Ha ha very funny, listen I'm going to join in on the festivities, are you going to come with me or are you going to spend the evening leaning against that tree like you're too much of an adventurer for the rest of us?"

Rowina shrugged and began to make her way over to join Brailin by the banquet tables.

She stopped midway and shouted over to him, "Hey I'll be back in a second I just need to go get some extra clothes, I'm starting to get pretty cold in these now the sun's down."

Brailin nodded and turned back to the food.

As she had suspected, the village leader's building was unlocked and completely unguarded. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she slipped inside and began to scan the room for something that stood out. Muttering to herself, " _red, orange, gold. Red, orange, gold"_ Just when she began to panic slightly at the thought of someone arriving, she spotted the glint of a metal box, reflecting the moonlight from beneath the bed. Crouching down to retrieve the box she smiled at the sight of a lock.

 _Probably the only one in the whole village,_ she thought to herself as she retrieved her lock picking equipment from her bag. She made short work of it, and in no time at all there was a familiar click followed by a devilish grin.

Of all the places she'd traveled, her home,the jungle island of Daymare, was probably her favourite. For one thing she found the people generally much more gullible which was nice for someone in her line of work. But aside from that, she had never been somewhere quite as diversely beautiful. Aside from the obviously luscious green plant life around, the green was dotted with mysterious glowing fauna, spiraling and misshapen plants that could have easily jumped from the pages of fiction or come from other worlds. In the jungle she was surrounded not only by vibrant greens but also by soft blues, bright warm reds and just about everything in between. She rode atop a dark blue lizard about 3 metres long that was covered in ice white streaks. It skittered swiftly through the jungle in a way a horse could only dream. The path was clearly laid out by clusters of bioluminescent yellow toadstools that made the traverse fairly easy without any stress of being lost in the depths of the jungle.

It was now fairly dark and she was avidly looking for a place to make camp and cook the boar she had caught earlier. Suddenly a flurry of movement caught her eye from the darkness and she drew her bow immediately, scanning the black for any signs of movement or aggression. She'd heard of people being attacked by a tribe of Gnolls in the area, vicious humanoid creatures that bear the resemblance of hyenas and attack in packs. Fortunately for her the silence was not broken again and there was no flurry of claws, fur or weaponry.

 _Probably just a giant snake,_ she thought to herself, putting away her bow and continuing onwards. It felt like an eternity before she reached a clearing where she could set up camp, but eventually she was able to settle in for the night and enjoy something to eat after a long day's trek through the growth.

Unfortunately for her, she had only taken one bite of her dinner before a rustling from the bush brought her full attention back to her surroundings and her weapons were once more in her hand, this time reaching for her knives instead of her bow. The rustling continued and she felt her heart beating as if it were inside her head. She knew full well that one of the risks of traveling alone was that any number of creatures could kill her without even breaking a sweat. As the rustling got closer and closer, Rowina's heart beat got faster and faster until she felt like her heart must be so loud that surely she was about to draw all sorts of creatures to her position at this rate. However she soon cried a sigh of relief when a familiarly brown haired gentleman revealed himself from the shadows, sat atop his own oversized lizard.

"Brailin?" She almost laughed just like she had with the druid.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything." He said sheepishly.

"What are you doing here? Why have you followed me all the way out here?" She was relieved not to be in any immediate danger but her tone was stern and she wasn't letting her guard down anytime soon.

Brailin got down from his mount and began to make his way over to the camp fire.

"So as much as I hate to play the blame game, I think you have something very valuable that belongs to my village."

Despite the fact that he was completely unarmed as far as she could tell, he walked and spoke with complete confidence and she couldn't help but be slightly unnerved. It was, of course, unusual for people she had met to be unwavering in the face of a blade at their throat, especially when they glinted in the fire light in such an intimidating fashion.

Even so, she smiled, "So they sent you to arrest me I suppose? The greatest warrior from a village that needed to pay a bounty hunter to take care of a retired hermit for them?"

She laughed but it was not humourous, it was cold and bored.

"Yeah something like that I suppose. But the way I see it I've got two options. One: we fight, I take you back to Rockdale, return the artifact and get a big hero's welcome, maybe I'm on even on my way to becoming chief or something. Or two:" Brailin smiles, "... I don't lift a finger to stop you and in return you help me get to Purple Sky?"

All the while he spoke Rowina listened intently, her expression stone and unchanging. She didn't want to kill him, she really didn't, but the thought of having to protect him through a jungle filled with god knows what didn't exactly appeal either.

"Why shouldn't I just kill you and be on my merry way." She spoke clinically, her eyes narrowed, "I mean I can't see how you would be able to contribute much and I don't fancy having to babysit you."

Brailin smiled, the firelight twinkling in his eyes, "My dear I think you'll find the answer to both questions are one and the-."

"Shut up." Rowina's head spun to her right, her clothing making an audible snap.

"Ouch, I was just trying to set up-."

"No you idiot." She hissed, "Listen."

For a moment there was nothing but the crackling of flames and the awkward shifting of Brailin's unfitted armour. The silence was broken immediately and without warning as Rowina's worst fear burst from the jungle growth and bounded towards them. Razor sharp teeth, spotted fur and clawed hands clasping crude weapons meant to cause as much pain as possible. It looked like a walking hyena, fueled by hunger and the suffering of others. It's tongue dangled from it's mouth, feral and hungry.

"Get behind me." She said, failing to keep the fear from her voice.

But there were more, many more. They came from the trees, the undergrowth, the darkness and before long they were surrounded by the creatures.

"If you see an opening, you run ok?"

Brailin's mouth twitched into a nervous smile, "Just trust me, we're going to be fine… I think."

Before Rowina had a chance to pray to Porfo that they weren't about to get eaten alive by crazy dog people, Brailin had closed his eyes and spread out his hands. Without a moment's notice, his eyes snapped opened and instead of the charming baby blues that had been there before, they were replaced with a brilliantly bright orange.

"Duck."

Rowina didn't need to be told twice, she hit the ground and a torrent of supernatural flame erupted from Brailin's hands, spouting in every possible direction and engulfing the area in a hurricain of inferno. The howling screams would have been audible from miles away. The abominations who weren't immediately killed fled back into the jungle as the light left Brailin's eyes and he collapsed to his knees, energy spent.

Rowina stared at Brailin with a look of fascinated awe. Brailin rocked back and forth, a look of naisia on his face.

"If you're planning on killing me, I'd do it now, I can only do that once a day."

Brailin swung sideways and passed out on the ground with a loud thud.

Rowina sighed, "guess I've got first watch then."

"So how long have you been able to do that kind of thing?"

It was now day, and the sun hung high in the sky above them as the two made their way further west through the jungle, following the yellow plants to Purple Sky.

"When I was five I accidentally lit the house on fire." He grinned, dad always said the look on mums face was priceless. Everyone had me pegged to lead the village someday but that's just not me you know? It's a big world out there and I don't want to have my whole life figured for me before I turn 30."

Rowina nodded, "It certainly is a big world, and if it has it's way then chances are people like us won't reach that age."

Brailin didn't respond, so they rode in silence for awhile. Fortunately the tension was quickly broken.

Rising up out of the horizon, the pair was greeted with the sight of an enormously bulbous mushroom. The fantastical fungi couldn't have looked much short of 400 meters tall from where they were standing. Brailin wouldn't have been surprised if his jaw ended up hitting the ground.

"Wow." He managed.

Rowina smiled, "Pretty cool huh?"

"I'll say. I'd heard of the Great Shrooms from my dad but I never imagined anything like this."

Brailin's head was tilted at a firm 45, taking in the breathtaking organism of soft green tissues, emerald green vines and the yellowy brown ripples, all set against that beautiful sapphire void. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

"How many of these are there?" A wondrous glint creeping into his eyes.

"I think there's s'posed to be about 6 or 7. This is the second one I've seen."

Rowina pulled out the map and examined it, looking for the Greatschroom.

"Ah here we are, looks like we're about halfway to Purple Sky."

"Halfway?" Brailin couldn't help but let a little exasperation slip into his voice.

Traveling had its peaks and valleys, something Rowina had come to learn. Many people, setting out in search of adventure, were simply spat into the next town over, having been enlightened to the harsh realities of the world outside their village. She wondered how long it would take Brailin.

After a few days travel, the pair had developed a number of smoothly running routines and systems. At night, Brailin would light the fire and set up the tents, while Rowina would hunt for something to eat. Some nights were more successful than others yielding boar or other large meaty animals. Other times they were stuck with less digestible things such as giant insects or reptiles that she could find. The worst night of all was late in the trip, when all they could find was a plant growing strange plump fruit. While the fruit tasted great, neither one could sleep due to a constant stream of graphic and paranoid hallucinations throughout the night. But after many days travel and many restless nights, their destination loomed in the distance. The jungle had been so think, that they had not been able to spot it from any distance, but as they closed in on their journey's end, the duo crested a hill, and a clearing in the growth illuminated them to where they were headed. The city of Purple Sky could not have been given a more apt name. Great rocks, quite literally the size of mountains, hung in the baby blue sky, reflecting a transcendent violet light like amethyst. Upon these floating, crystalline formations, Brailin and Rowina could just spot small buildings, dotting the mountainside, and what looked to be rope, strung between each formation.

"Rowina it's…"

"...Breathtaking." She finished for him. "Yeah."

For a moment, they remained still, drinking in the spectacle with a quiet awe. After a moment, Brailin spoke up.

"You know I've heard that in this area, there are two sun sets, one for each sky. It looks like we're right on time for the first one."

Rowina furrowed her brow, "What do you… oh."

As Rowina finished speaking, the sun began to dip behind the city of Purple Sky, and for a moment, a shadow swept over them and down into the valley beyond. However after a minutes pause, they were suddenly bathed in a mystical violet light as the sun's rays were refracted through the mountains themself. Everything around them from their clothes to the trees was suddenly a different shade purple, and in the distance, the floating city glittered like the heavens.

Eventually the two adventurers managed to drag themselves from the spectacle before them and delve back into the Jungle, in the hopes of eventually getting to their destination. So close to their destination, they moved with a new sense of invigorated ferver, their reptilian steeds following the yellow path laid out for them, until eventually stopping at the edge of a river. The current looked strong, and there was no clear bridge or pathway across.

"God I hate these things." Rowina groaned, "but this means we're close to the start point, I heard there's a marked tree just on the other side of this river, and that we can climb to the first point from there. You listening Brailin?"

Brailin hadn't grown up around many rivers or things of that nature, in his village they mostly collected water from the rain and only when desperate would venture to one of the streams nearby. But regardless of his shaky knowledge of water, Brailin was certain that water should never be quite that muddy. The river in front of him was not only so thick he could not see an inch below the surface, but it was also such a rich brown. And that smell, he could swear it reminded him of…

"Chocolate. You really never been out of Rockdale? I crossed one not two days out from your village."

The memory hit him immediately. A wealthy man venturing from an Eastern city, Brailin remembered how he had saved the man from a carnivorous plant and in return the man had given him a bar of what he called 'chocolate'. He had made it last almost a whole week, sneaking bites every now and then. It was a taste unlike anything he'd experienced in Rockdale. In front of him was a near infinite supply of the thing he'd dreamt of since he was a boy.

Brailin made a mad dash for the river bed, emptying his flask as he ran, preparing to gorge himself on fine liquid. The rock connected with his head and he tripped, going down hard. Rubbing the back of his head Brailin whipped around to face his aggressor. Rowina stood there with a look of mild indignation, a slight smirk creeping onto her face.

"What are you doing?" She spoke as if addressing a small child, "you can't drink from the river it's poisonous. Get up, we need to keep moving, there are all manner of things in there just waiting for some poor sap like yourself."

Somewhat dazed and disgruntled, Brailin side-eyed the river.

"Right, so how exactly are we planning on getting over here again?"

"See those mounds protruding from the current there? Where the rivers flow shifts slightly and you can see a spotted greeny yellowy pattern?"

Brailin peered over the river, it was almost impossible to spot from this angle but he thought he could make out what she was talking about.

"Well those are a special type of toadstool that grow beneath the surface of the river. They can generally support a pretty substantial weight and these lizards are pretty good at jumping between them. All we've got to do is point them in the right direction and pray to Porfo we don't fall off. Sound good?"

Good was not a word Brailin would use to describe, strapping himself to volatile lizard and being hurled from toadstool to toadstool across a monster infested death river, but as he tilted his head skyward, and saw the collection of dazzling purple mountain ranges above, he felt a new sense of determination sweep over him. Brailin nodded.

"Good because that's the only way we've got."

The two prepared themselves for the crossing, harnessing each other together with several metres rope incase one of them fell in.

"Ok Brailin, because I've done this a few times already, I'm going to go first and you're going to follow my lead, staying on platform behind at all times, got it?"

Brailin nodded, but he was barely listen, something had caught his eye. In the distance, back the way they'd come, was a pair of lizards not unlike their own. This was not uncommon to find other travelers on the yellow path, however something was different this time. These two were different, he knew it. One of them was a hulking man, easily a couple foot taller than himself. His face represented that of a humanoid bull, a brutish nose, beaded eyes and fearsome horns. He was unmistakable, a minotaur. The other figure was miniscule in comparison, a slender frame and cloaked in a black garb not unlike Rowina however not an inch of skin was visible on this intruding individual. They were approaching at a remarkably fast pace.

"Brailin are you listening to me?"

Brailin's attention snapped back to Rowina.

"Look."

Rowina turned her gaze over to the pair just in time to see the Minotaur draw an axe from behind his back large enough to pass for a giants letter opener.

"Follow me and whatever happens don't stop for a goddamn second."

Leaving her steed behind, Rowina took a sprinting leap towards a spot on the river and skidded to a stop, grabbing the side of the floating schroom. Brailin didn't need to be told twice, past fears dwarfed by the size of that axe, he took a running jump and landed heavily behind Rowina. Again she jumped and once more he followed suit. Jump, land, repeat. They were about 10 meters from the shore line when their pursuers closed in on the riverbed. _They had enough of a head start at this point, they just needed to get to the other side and then maybe they could disappear and lose them in the jungle_ , he thought.

The next jump was a lot larger than the previous ones, and the target was much less forgiving. He steeled himself, and jumped. He could tell he was off from the moment his feet left the ground, he felt his torso and lower body splash into the thick brown liquid as his arms scrambled to grab onto the platform. Rowina was already landing on the next platform, however his short jump jerked her backwards. As she fell Rowina managed to flick out one of her many knives and by stabbing into the toadstools surface she was able cement a hold on her platform.

Brailin's imagination went into overdrive, picturing that giant axe splitting his head or some unimaginable horror from the depths chomping down on his legs and dragging him under. Spurred on by the taste of sweat, chocolate and fear, Brailin dug his fingers into the squishy surface and hauled himself to safety. Him momentary triumph was quickly drowned out by the low growl of his gargantuan follower,

"That was a close one little man. You never know what could be lurking down there." The minotaur had just landed with a splash on the toadstool one behind Brailin's.

"Your chief was quite insistent we return you alive if possible, he was quite worried for your safety wasn't he Lucas." Now closer, the one called 'Lucas' was more visible. Beneath his hood was a deathly pale face, etched with blunt tatoes and a cruel smile.

"You know he's lucky we showed up when we did because I don't think ol Brailin here was going to be returning with his precious artifact anytime soon, do you?"

Lucas shook his head, eye's drilling into Brailin's. Brailin turned his head behind him, the jump to the next platform was even further than the one he just made.

"You know I hate to disappoint an old chief but I think we're going to have to take that artifact of his for ourself to sell to someone a little more lucrative-"

As he finishes the sentence, an arrow darts over Brailin's shoulder and strikes into the minotaur's shoulder, forcing him to grunt in pain through gritted teeth.

Rowina stands several meters back, bow raised, "the next one is going to be a lot closer to your head unless you back away now." She spoke calmly but with a snarl to her voice. Brailin, seeing his opportunity, prepared to make a jump for it. Unfortunately as he did so a green mist coiled around him and he felt every muscle in his body seize up. He was helpless as the minotaur launched from his pad and landed with a smack behind Brailin. He was wrenched into the air and held in front of the minotaur with one hand, pointed at Rowina. He could see the fear and agitation starting to encroach on Rowina's demeanor.

"Now drop the bow, and bring over the artifact, or else poor elfy boy hear meets an unfortunately grisly end."

As he spoke, the current sped along, beneath Brailin's still paralysed frame.

"What's it going to be girl? Lover boy, or your precious trinket. Bounty hunter to bounty hunter."

The sound of the current, while moments ago had been calm, was now deafening. The heat of the sun was like a hot knife against her back and her skin itched with an ugly nervous sweat. Brailin's eye's moved to her left, and she let the arrow fly.

The green mist evaporated as quickly as it had come as Lucas felt an Arrow rip through his kneecap. Brailin felt every nerve in his body switch back online and a red hot fire coursed through his veins as his eyes glowed a bright orange. Flipping himself around, Brailin lept into the air, slamming both his feet into the wall of muscle that had held him in its grasp. As his feet made contact, Brailin let loose a devastating torrent of flames that engulfed the minotaur and sent him reeling backwards, slipping into the sticky depths. At the same time, Brailin was hurled through the air like a missile, skidding to a halt at Rowina's side. The minotaur scrambled for a hold on the slippery surface, managing to dig his fingers in at the last second. But his relief was short lived as from the murky depths something of a child's nightmares rose. The large minotaur was almost completely engulfed by a set of colossal jaws sporting teeth the size of scimitars. An orange orb of an eye blinked horizontally as a startling array of tentacles wrapped itself around its prey and dragged the beast into the awaiting maw. A moment passed, the current settled, and Rowena and Brailin each let out a sigh of relief. The pair had made it, and high above them, a utopia awaited.

The trek upwards was an arduous one to say the least. They climbed from floating rock to floating rock, following the ropes laid out by those who had journeyed before them and been lucky enough to make it. Eventually they made it, and the end of their journey was within their grasp. They could then see buildings that could only belong to the people who lived here. But something was off. For one their was not nearly as many buildings as they had expected and the ground they climbed across was not a magnificent purple as it looked from the ground, but a cold stone grey. Despite this however, there was no mistaking that the was in fact, utterly remarkable. They could see kilometers in every direction. Sparkling blue lakes, the brilliant greens of the jungle. They could even see the colossal Greatschroom they had passed under on their way there.

"Good thing neither of us is afraid of heights." Brailin said as they walked across their fourth rickety rope bridge, a startling void beneath them. Rowina was quite.

Finally the arrived at the main section of the 'city'. Their arrival was met with cautionary stares from the people living there. Frail children darted from building to building, dressed in tattered clothing. The buildings, they could now see, were mostly in ruins, left dilapidated by Time's cruel hand.

"Rowina, what's going on, what has happened to Purple Sky?"

Rowina didn't say anything, she kept her head down as she continued to walk towards the centre of the town, Brailin in tow.

"Rowina." His tone was stern and he was no longer walking in her stead. "I'm serious. This isn't a Utopia," he let out a humourless laugh, "it's not even a city. So why don't you tell me what the hell is going on."

Rowina sighed, "follow me, and I will show you."

Tired, frustrated and angry, Brailin reluctantly followed. She lead him to a stone door carved into the mountain in the centre of town. She took a key from a necklace she'd been wearing and placed it into the door. With a mechanical click, the door opened and Brailin was beckoned inside. Rowina had lit a lantern and together they ventured deep into the floating mountain. As they walked Brailin could make out ancient symbols carved into the walls, to archaic to read. Eventually, he could make out a faint glow coming from the distance. Until that glow was just as bright as Rowina's torch, and the two emerged into a large circular room, at the centre of which protruded a large purple crystal, glowing with a supernatural energy.

"Enough Rowina, you need to tell me exactly what is going on or I walk back the way I came right now."

"You don't need to yell, I'm going to tell you everything." She took a deep breath.

"First off, Purple Sky isn't real. At least the idea of Purple Sky that hopeful idiots such yourself dream about, isn't real. Purple Sky was the forgotten dream of a brilliant madman. A man with so much power, that he was able to warp entire landscapes to his own twisted idea of what made fantastical. But you're right, this isn't a Utopia, for the people who live here it's nothing but a nightmare. I'm sure in the beginning it was fine, when they had people to venture to the surface and hunt for them, but as their population dwindles… They have no food, barely any water. For Porfo's sake they're living off of what birds they can trap up here. And all so that people on the ground can have something pretty to look at and dream of a more exciting life outside their dreary, boring village. Meanwhile I dreamed of getting the hell off this floating rock."

Brailin was silent, staring at her as she unraveled everything that had been swamping her mind since she began her journey.

"Right now, we are sitting at the heart of Purple Sky. That 'trinket' I stole from your village is part two of a two part off switch." She removed two shards of differently coloured crystals, one red and the other blue. Her hand outstretched, offering the red shard to Brailin.

"I need two people to stop this thing."

For a moment there was nothing but an eery silence so thick you could cut it with a knife. Then Brailin spoke.

"This. Is. Insane. You ask me to help you turn off a floating city, endangering who knows how many lives, and this was what you wanted me here for this entire time."

"Yes."

Brailin narrowed his eyes.

"How can I trust you."

"You can't."

In the town of Rockdale, a child wakes up, crying for his mother. The trees tremor and shake and the mother holds the child in her arms, lying as she tells him there's nothing to worry about when of course she has no idea.

In the city of Yellowseed an elderly shop keep curses as the tremor causes a beloved vase to crash to the floor, ashes spilling across his leather shoes.

In Cherryton a young girl prays as she feels the vibrations beneath her feet. Her prayer quickly changes to one of concern for her father, whom she knows to be out hunting boar in the wilderness.

And deep in the jungle, a grown man cries as he sees the heavens themselves crash to earth. He falls to his knees and sobs into the ground. His tears splash softly to earth, and as they do, they fall upon toadstools not of yellow or gold, but a soft stone grey.


End file.
